Extra Trains Added on All Three Lines
The 251st St. Patrick’s Day Parade will march up Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 79th Street on Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 11:00 am. And Metro-North is definitely the best way for many suburban residents to get to the Parade, with the starting point just two blocks from Grand Central.
Metro-North will be providing extra service to handle the expected surge in ridership on St. Patrick’s Day, as this year’s parade is on a Saturday. There will be 15 extra inbound trains – seven on the Hudson, and four each on the Harlem and New Haven lines.
To ensure order aboard and to assure that fares are collected, conductors will be posted at three busy stations (Poughkeepsie, Beacon and New Haven) to collect tickets before customers board trains. This procedure, called gate collection, is commonly used at Grand Central after other high volume travel days, such as the Thanksgiving Day Parade and on New Year’s Eve ball drop.
Customers should buy round trip tickets in advance at their home stations using ticket machines and ticket offices. (Special machines are being installed for the day at Beacon in the underpass.) Because large crowds are expected, customer should get to the station early to buy tickets.
In addition, alcohol will not be allowed on trains, at stations or in Grand Central. Nor will Metro-North sell alcoholic beverages from bar carts customarily located within the Terminal. MTA Police will be enforcing Rules and Regulations regarding the consumption of beer or alcohol in public as well as sales to or use by minors. All alcoholic beverages served by Terminal tenants must only be served in paper or plastic cups. To help mitigate possible issues, the MTA will notify select vendors of the special alcohol policies on that day.
To accommodate increased ridership, Metro-North will operate a normal Saturday schedule with the following service changes and additional trains:
New Haven Line:
(Note: At New Haven Station, tickets will be collected before boarding buy tickets at ticket machines and ticket offices. Because we anticipate large crowds, we advise you to get to the station early to buy your tickets.)
An extra train will depart from New Haven at 9:19 AM, stopping at Milford, Stratford, Bridgeport, Fairfield Metro, Fairfield, Westport, then express to Harlem-125th Street, arriving GCT at 10:55 AM.
An extra train will depart from New Haven at 9:48 AM, stopping at Milford, Stratford, Bridgeport, Fairfield Metro, Fairfield, Westport, then express to Harlem-125th Street, arriving GCT at 11:24 AM.
An extra train will depart from New Haven at 10:45 AM, stopping at Milford, Stratford, Bridgeport, Fairfield Metro, Fairfield, Westport, then express to Harlem-125th Street, arriving GCT at 12:21 PM.
An extra train will depart from South Norwalk at 12:31 PM, stopping at Darien, Noroton Heights, Stamford, then express to Harelm-125th Street, arriving GCT at 1:35 PM.
Hudson Line:
The 7:40 AM from Poughkeepsie will run express after Croton-Harmon, making its next stop at Harlem-125th Street and arriving GCT at 9:21 AM.
An extra express train will depart from Croton-Harmon at 8:39 AM, making stops at Ossining, Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Yonkers, Marble Hill, Harlem- 125th Street, arriving GCT at 9:34 AM.
An extra local train will depart from Croton-Harmon at 8:54 AM making all stops to Marble Hill, then Harlem-125th Street, and arriving GCT at 9:57 AM.
An extra express train will depart from Poughkeepsie at 8:30 AM, stopping at New Hamburg, Beacon, Peekskill then express to Harlem-125th Street, arriving GCT at 10 AM.
An extra express train will depart from Croton-Harmon at 9:28 AM, going express to Tarrytown, Harlem-125th Street, arriving in GCT at 10:15 AM.
An extra express train will depart from Poughkeepsie at 12:28 PM, stopping at New Hamburg, Beacon, Peekskill then express to Harlem-125th Street, arriving GCT at 2:02 PM.
The 12:40 PM from Poughkeepsie will run express after Croton-Harmon, making its next stop at Harlem-125th Street and arriving GCT at 2:33 PM.
Harlem Line:
An extra express train will depart from Southeast at 8:06 AM, stopping at Brewster, Goldens Bridge, Katonah, Mount Kisco, Chappaqua, Pleasantville, North White Plains, and White Plains, then express to Harlem-125th Street, arriving GCT at 9:28 AM.
An extra train will depart from Mt Kisco at 10:33 AM, stopping at Chappaqua, Pleasantville, North White Plains, White Plains, Hartsdale, Scarsdale, and Crestwood, Harlem-125th Street, arriving GCT at 11:31 AM.
An extra train will depart from Mt Kisco at 11:02 AM, stopping at Chappaqua, Pleasantville, North White Plains, White Plains, Hartsdale, Scarsdale, and Crestwood, Harlem-125th Street, arriving GCT at 12:02 PM.
An extra train will depart from Mt Kisco at 11:33 AM, stopping at Chappaqua, Pleasantville, North White Plains, White Plains, Hartsdale, Scarsdale, and Crestwood, Harlem-1254th Street, arriving GCT at 12:31 PM.
The following outbound extra trains will operate:
New Haven Line:
3:55 PM departing GCT stopping at South Norwalk, Westport, Fairfield, Fairfield Metro, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford, arriving New Haven at 5:33 PM.
4:57 PM departing GCT stopping at Westport, Fairfield, Fairfield Metro, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford, arriving New Haven at 6:34 PM.
5:57 PM departing GCT stopping at Westport, Fairfield, Fairfield Metro, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford, arriving New Haven at 7:34 PM.
Hudson Line:
4:16 PM departing GCT to Harlem-125th Street, Croton-Harmon, Cortlandt, Peekskill, Garrison, Cold Spring, Beacon, New Hamburg, arriving Poughkeepsie at 5:59 PM.
5:16 PM departing GCT to Harlem-125th Street, Croton-Harmon, Cortlandt, Peekskill, Garrison, Cold Spring, Beacon, New Hamburg, arriving Poughkeepsie at 6:59 PM.
Harlem Line:
3:23 PM departing GCT to Harlem-125th Street, White Plains, North White Plains, Valhalla, Hawthorne, Pleasantville, Chappaqua, Mt. Kisco, Bedford Hills, Katonah, Goldens Bridge, Purdyâ??s, Croton Falls, Brewster, arriving Southeast at 4:53 PM.
For more details go to the schedules page at www.mta.info/mnr or call Metro-North’s Customer Service Center at 511. In Connecticut, call 877-690-5114.
This extra service adds about 9,700 seats to the normal inbound service. In addition, there will be extra cars on regular trains to accommodate additional ridership. In total, Metro- North will provide up to 60,000 seats system wide in the 8 AM to 2 PM time period. Outbound, the additional service adds approximately 6,000 seats between 2 PM and 9 PM, and with extra cars, the outbound total is over 70,000 seats provided.
Photo Credit: James Cobb